The infamous Black Widow Company was a semi-independent unit within the larger mercenary unit Wolf's Dragoons, formed and led throughout its existence by Natasha Kerensky, the "Black Widow".

Although composed mostly of misfits and troublemakers, the Black Widow Company was a dangerous elite fighting unit with a reputation for brilliant tactics and a boldness bordering on folly. Renowned for their skill as MechWarriors, Natasha Kerensky and her unit were also known and feared for cruelty, deceitfulness and generally dishonorable behavior, attributes that set them apart from the rest of the highly esteemed Wolf's Dragoons.

The Black Widows saw their first combat action during the Marik Civil War in 3015 on New Delos and fought with distinction in innumerable famous battles.

In September 3026, Wolf's Dragoons, including the Black Widow Company, along with the Fifth Sword of Light were tasked with flushing out resistance to the Kurita-backed government of Kawabe from cities and other defensive positions.[1]

Following the devastating losses that Wolf's Dragoons suffered during the Battle of Misery against House Kurita and in the following Fourth Succession War, the Black Widow Company was the first unit available for hire again and signed a contract on November 7, 3031. On December 16 of that year it was publicly announced that Natasha Kerensky had been promoted to Colonel, and that the unit had been upgraded to battalion strength. It was subsequently known as the Black Widow Battalion.

They were recalled to the Dragoon home world of Outreach in 3035 and ordered to provide training for other Dragoon units for the following seven years. It is believed that during this time, the unit was restructured following Clan doctrine: Each company comprised of 15 BattleMechs (instead of 12 as per Inner Sphere standard), known among the Clans as a Trinary.

When the Clan invasion began in 3049, Natasha Kerensky left Wolf's Dragoons and resumed her place among her fellow trueborn Clan warriors, eventually attaining the rank of Khan of Clan Wolf. The original Black Widow Battalion was disbanded after she left the unit, and a new unit called the Wolf Spider Battalion was formed within Wolf's Dragoons in their place.

Parodied in Critter-TEK as the "Black Hippo Company" under Captain Natasha Immenski. According to the description, "Her tactical daring-do, silly clothes, and total confidence in the scriptwriter have led to a winning streak unsurpassed since the days of the Big League. In fact, most of the rest of Wolff's Baboons seem to exist purely to soak up damage while the Black Hippos win the battle" and all of the other Baboon battalions "stand around looking good while the feared and respected Black Hippo Company mops the floor with the enemy".